


My past, my present and my future

by CatelynStark956



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Mention of Cat/Brandon, ned and cat are babies, that's all i have to say
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26951575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatelynStark956/pseuds/CatelynStark956
Summary: A short modern au fic about a dinner where Brandon has too much to drink and Ned ends up being more than a little jealous.It was originally posted on Tumblr
Relationships: Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	My past, my present and my future

**Author's Note:**

> A little something because I got inspired by a tumblr post and just had to write it. I hope you like it!

“Do you remember that time, Cat?” Brandon asked. 

Couldn’t he just be quiet? Catelyn desperately wanted him to just shut up. Inviting him to the dinner had been stupid, she had known it deep down. But he had been so lonely the past year, she had wanted him to have some company. But of course he had had too much to drink and was saying things that did no good for anybody. 

“No” she said quietly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She had no idea about what Brandon was talking of, but she knew that she wanted him to stop talking. It was nothing but embarrassing for everyone around the table.

Catelyn glanced at Ned, but his gaze was focused on the plate in front of him. She noticed the tension in his body and frowned. She hated what Brandon speaking of their past relationship did to Ned. It had been twenty five years since she broke up with him, but still he brought it up every time he got too drunk. She didn’t know if he did it to provoke Ned or because he was a sentimental man. But she knew that she wanted it to stop because seeing that look on her husband’s face made her heart break. 

“Those were the good old days” Brandon continued, not seeming to have heard her. “Gods, you were gorgeous back then. You’re still quite lovely, but feeling you up then was a true pleasure. And you were sooo good.”

“Brandon!” Catelyn exclaimed, a bit horrified. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”

She felt herself blushing at his words. How could he say such a thing of her? And right in front of Ned and the rest of their company? But she found that she was more angry than embarrassed. How he could do that to his own brother and his wife, she didn’t understand. 

“I’m just saying the truth” Brandon said loudly and raised his hands into the air. “We made a good couple, and you know it. We had a certain... chemistry.”

“We were together for six months and our relationship actually worked for zero of them” Catelyn said in a low voice. “So could we please speak of something else?”

The sex had been good, if that was what he meant with “chemistry”, but absolutely nothing else had worked and he cheated on her so many times in those six months. They had been doomed from the very beginning. And she was so much happier with Ned. She loved him with all of her heart, they had five kids and a good home and a stable relationship. She trusted Ned with every fiber of her being, a thing she had never felt with Brandon. 

“I just can’t forget about it. You were a really good girlfriend, I loved you. You were my first great love.”

All lies. If he had truly loved her then he wouldn’t have fucked other girls when he was supposed to meet her. Couldn’t he just shut up, how stupid could he be? 

“Please, Brandon!”

“Are you unhappy with my little brother, sweetheart?” Brandon leaned forward and looked at her with a smile playing on his lips. “Is that why me talking about old times makes you so upset? Because you miss it?”

What was wrong with him? The audacity of that question was enough to make her blood boil. How dared he suggest that she was unhappy with her marriage? 

“I need some air” Ned almost growled. 

That was what she had been afraid would happen. He pushed out his chair before any of them had time to say anything and walked with sure steps towards the doors. Catelyn looked after him for a moment, and then looked back at Brandon. How could he do such a thing to his own brother?

“I’ll be right back” she said to the other people around the table.

Then she also pushed out her chair and followed her husband. It was dark outside and she shivered slightly when she stepped out into the cold night. Ned stood with his back to her, but he heard her coming. Oh how she despised the sight of him standing there alone, it made her sad to see. She wanted him to be happy. 

“Go back inside, Cat, it’s cold” he muttered. 

She walked over to him and took one of his hands, but he still wouldn’t look at her. 

“Please, Ned, come back. You know he didn’t mean it” she told him. 

He actually pulled his hand away from hers. 

“How could he not mean it? Brandon loved you before I did.”

“We’ve been married for twenty years, Ned. You should know better. He’s just teasing you.”

She wished he would come back inside with her so that they could say goodbye and go home. Going back to the home that they had built on their love was all she wanted in that moment. She wanted to leave Brandon and the others and just be with Ned. Reassure him of how much she loved him. 

“I know, but I need space. I’ll see you at home.”

“Ned, look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have invited him” she said. “And I understand that you want to go home, I understand that you need space. But I’m not leaving you like this. So we’ll go home together. If you want space, then I’ll give you that. But at home.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“No. You go back, enjoy yourself, I don’t want to ruin this night for you.”

“Do you seriously think I enjoyed that? I hated it as much as you did. Brandon has already ruined this, so can’t we go home instead? I would rather be at home with you than here.”

“Catelyn...” Ned said slowly.

“Yes?”

“Is it true what he said? Are you unhappy, do you miss him?”

He actually turned to look at her then. She could see the pain in his eyes, as clear as day. And she had to admit that it hurt her a bit that he would think that what Brandon said was true, but she also knew that he had struggled with that since childhood. He didn’t feel like he should have had everything he had got because in his mind Brandon was more deserving of it.

She raised her hands to his face, held him steady and looked deep into his eyes. He had so pretty eyes. 

“It’s not even a little true, Ned” she said softly. “You are the man I love, the man that makes me happy, not him. He’s a part of my past, I can’t change that. But you are most of my past, you are my present and my future, and I don’t miss Brandon at all. I love you, I have loved you for more than twenty years, and I’ll love you until my last day.”

“I love you too” he whispered. 

She reached up and kissed him, tried to put into it all the words that she couldn’t say. How much he meant to her. 

He laid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, kissing her more firmly. She knew that people were probably watching but she couldn’t find it in her to care. Ned was the only one that existed to her in that moment, he was all that mattered.

“Let’s go home” she said when they broke apart.

“Yeah, let’s go home.”


End file.
